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Jimmy Carter: Money ruining elections

Carter said 'we have one of the worst election processes in the world.' | AP Photo

By ASSOCIATED PRESS | 9/12/12 12:45 AM EDT

Former President Jimmy Carter issued a blistering indictment of the U.S. electoral process Tuesday, saying it is shot through with “financial corruption” that threatens American democracy.

Speaking in Atlanta at the international human rights center that bears his name, Carter said “we have one of the worst election processes in the world right in the United States of America, and it’s almost entirely because of the excessive influx of money.”

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The 39th president lamented a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows unlimited contributions to third-party groups that don’t have to disclose their donors.

The dynamic is fed, Carter said, by an income tax code that exacerbates the gap between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the electorate, allowing the rich even greater influence over public discourse and electioneering.

He added that he hopes the “Supreme Court will reverse that stupid ruling,” referring to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Carter praised Mexico and several countries in which Carter Center staff have monitored publicly financed elections, and he said the United States should return to publicly financed elections for president. The system technically is still in place, but it is voluntary and both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have chosen to bypass the taxpayer money because they can amass far more on their own.

“You know how much I raised to run against Gerald Ford? Zero,” Carter said, referring to his 1976 general election opponent. “You know how much I raised to run against Ronald Reagan? Zero. You know how much will be raised this year by all presidential, Senate and House campaigns? $6 billion. That’s 6,000 millions.”

The 87-year-old Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, appeared at The Carter Center to deliver a report on their human rights and public health initiatives around the world. They took questions from those in attendance and online viewers watching a webcast.

Carter, who left office in 1981, held forth on a range of foreign policy matters, nearly all of them situations in which The Carter Center and the former president himself have been involved.

The United States, Carter said, has “less influence” over Middle East nations and diplomacy in that region than it has had at any time since Israel was established as a nation-state in 1948. “Our country’s government has basically abandoned the effort,” Carter said, adding that he still supports a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.

He said he hopes Israel resists any urge to strike Iran “on its own,” and he discouraged Obama from drawing a “line in the sand” that Iran would almost certainly cross.

In Syria, Carter said civil war will worsen as other nations in the region flood the participants with weapons. “There is little hope of good things coming out of Syria any time soon,” he said.

He praised the Venezuelan election process. He described a touch-screen voting system that immediately records a vote in a centralized location, while also printing out a ballot receipt that allows a voter to check the accuracy of the vote. He noted “criticism of the outcome” of recent elections there but said President Hugo Chavez won “fairly and squarely.”

While the former president clearly relishes the detailed discussions of world political affairs, he and his wife emphasized that the center’s public health programs have had the greatest individual effects of their post-White House work.

Rosalynn Carter, who concentrates much of her work on mental health access and education, highlighted on ongoing effort to educate mental health professionals in Liberia. After three years of Carter Center involvement, three classes of nurses and other medical professionals have received advanced training in treating behavioral health concerns. The former first lady said the need is acute in the war-torn nation, which had just one practicing psychiatrist three years ago.

In the United States, she said public financing for mental health treatment is often among the first casualties of tight budgets because of the continuing stigma of the conditions. Out of fear, she said, family members and advocates “don’t rise up and become concerned about it … to the degree I’d like them to.”

The former president celebrated the approaching end of the Guinea worm, a parasite that is among the world’s oldest known maladies. The Carter Center began an eradication program in 1986, when 3.5 million cases were spread across Africa and Asia, concentrated in villages without clean water. As of 2011, there were 1,058 cases reported in four African nations. Eliminating the condition, Carter said, “will be one of the crowning achievements of my life. I’ll soon be 88 years old. I just hope I live longer than the last Guinea worm.”

Readers' Comments (22)

Mr. Carter: They still hate You for your acknowledgement that Palestinians are human-beings. You remember that don't Ya?

By the way, I once had a can of Billy Beer.. so listen to me.. Will Ya?

Left-Right.. Double Paradigm.. With product differentation merely tweeked to fool the masses but one thing in common is to move forward on a one world government abhorant to God ( see Tower of Babel) as the TOB was 1st attempt to remove bounds.. et.c

O most are too smart to know this.. They are duped daily.. They know not!

"Forgive Them for they know not what they do"

Nice words from X who gave You a way-out huh?

In the end X wins but for now we've to endure the liars who seek daily destruction, chaos et.c.

"For their father loves death" see Bible

I love life.. I love the Good.. I am not a destructor nor promoter of such.

Barry Soetoro aka Obama - He's got two names.. I have but one.

Am I the lesser.. Am I to just take it? To be lied to? To follow Satan himself?

Not going to happen...............

O Ye Fools..........Find INTEL if You are sincere .Find Alex Jones for INTEL at INFOWARS.

Got to love the musings of the most inept President ever soon to be replaced by the current clown. And it was President Empty Chair himself that declared he wanted to raise a mere billion dollars for this election cycle.

I agree with Jimmy Carter. Special interest monies in politics may be the greatest threat to our realizing a genuine democracy and to providing equal opportunity to all. Special interest money in politics has long led both major political parties to funnel a disproportionate amount of tax dollars to the richest and therefore most powerful. It has also bought the rich special exemptions and freedoms and protections not enjoyed by most of US. It has to go if we are ever to fully realize our most noble American dream.

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. Plutarch

Bumbling Carter marches in step with all leftists who think all money behind the GOP in elections should be outlawed, but sees no problem with the huge money going to Dems from unions, including from public employee unions, which comes from taxes paid, which is the true outrage.

As long as that double standard is applied by the left, their argument has no moral standing and holds no water.

Notice that Republicans have to lie about their oppoents, cheat via voter suppression efforts nationwide, and steal elections by literally buying elections with unlimited Citizens United-enabled funding that worked well in 2010.

The snarky GOP love to blast the Navy veteran Carter, but NEVER mention that few American soldiers were killed during his administration and the cost of military spending was much lower and kept the National Debt less than $800 billion through his tenure. Unemployment was also lower than the 7.5% to 11.55% jump under Reagan during his first term as he would go on to triple the National Debt with out-of-control government and defense spending while wasting 550 Marines senselessly in Beirut before cutting and running and emboldening our Muslim enemies.

It was Reagan who gave aid and comfort to our future jihidist enemies in Afghanistan including Bin Laden deemed "freedom fighters" like the murderous Contras. Compare the number of indictments and corruption under Carter verses Reagan who could have been impeached and jailed about lying about the Iran-Contra fiasco or his covert support of Panamanian dictator Noreiga (GHW Bush served as his financial "bag man.")

Just as the GOP try to saddle Pres. Obama with their abuse of power, massive government growth and spending, Pres. Carter was also blamed for the inflation that began under Nixon-Ford (recall Ford's WIN program, as in "Whip Inflation Now)," blamed for our support of the murderous dictator the Shah of Iran who was installed with covert CIA help under Eisenhower in 1953 and supported by subsequent US administrations.

The failed attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages during the Shah's overthrow helped Reagan to defeat Carter and shows just how politically and physically risky taking out Bin Laden was. Lastly, had America heeded Carter's warning about dependence upon foreign oil and fossil fuels and had continued his efforts at alternative forms of energy and raising auto MPG standards, America could likely have avoided the subsequent three, Bush I and Bush II Middle East oil wars based upon lies, deceit, arrogance, and greed and could have saved thousands of US soldiers' lives and the wounding of tens of thousands and the lifetimes of war bills and costly VA healthcare from two, unpaid-for wars combined at over 20 years and projected to cost $5 trillion.

Um, I could appreciate Liberals crying after being out funded if they had come out when Obama ran the first Billion dollar Campaign in American history in 2008. Not a word.

Obama's campaign in 2008 raised $750 million (after he rejected public funding which he advocated for), not $1 billion.

Democrats thought that Obama's 2012 campaign would be a billion dollar campaign and it's not even close. He's not even going to get close to his 2008 target, he's well behind pace for that. That's why Democrats are whining about 2012. And they shouldn't even be whining about that since Obama's campaign has raised more than Romney's.

But now the campaigns aren't the whole story since we now have more liberty to express political beliefs. Obama only has 3 Super PACs which support him and only one -- Priorities USA (which has called Romney a murderer under direct coordinate with the Obama campaign) -- has raised over a million dollars. Romney has 15 Super PACs which've raised nearly $100 million in support. Democrats REALLY hate that -- but that wouldn't be a problem if they had better values and supported the natural right to free speech.

A prominent member of Chicago’s homosexual community claims Barack Obama’s participation in the “gay” bar and bathhouse scene was so well known that many who were aware of his lifestyle were shocked when he ran for president and finally won the White House.

“It was preposterous to the people I knew then to think Obama was going to keep his gay life secret,” said Kevin DuJan, who was a gossip columnist in Chicago for various blogs when Obama was living in the city as a community organizer and later a state senator.

“Nobody who knew Obama in the gay bar scene thought he could possibly be president,” said DuJan. It is no surprise Obama hid his past as he has so much to hide.

http://www.wnd.com/2012...

There is no end to the secrets this low life obama has shielded from view by the public. Deception and dishonesty are the hallmarks of Baroke obama.

CARTER IS A TRUE HUMANITARIAN AND WORLD SERVER. HE HAS BEEN FRAUDULENTLY BEEN DEMONIZED BY REPUBLICANS FOR POLITICAL REASONS--YET THE MAN IS A TRUE PATRIOT AND ACHIEVER. HIS ONLY MAJOR FAILURE WAS IN IRAN. THAT MAKES IT EVEN CLEARER THAT OBAMA DEMONSTRATED COURAGE AND LEADERSHIP to order the Bin Laden attack in Pakistan. People are trying to take credit away from him; imagine what would have happened if the mission had failed? Would those who now criticize have been clamoring to share the failure s they want to spread the responsibility for the success? ON American POLITICS, Carter stands out with distinction, if any one would care to examine the facts. ABOUT ROMNEY USING CARTER AS A FODDER AND PLOY. STRANGE INDEED THAT ROMNEY WOULD DERIDE CARTER AND CONSTANTLY TRY TO USE HIM AS A FODDER FOR HIS POLITICS. LET'S COMPARE. CARTER was top of his class at the US naval academy and served in a war; Romney absconded to a luxury apartment in Paris to avoid military service while his countrymen fought in the trenches of war-ravaged Vietnam. CARTER achieved a lot as President including starting America's first foray into energy conservation and clean energy; Romney is completely in bed with fossil fuel polluters. CARTER is empathetic; Romney is ruthless, cold, calculating, heartless and thoroughly self-seeking. CARTER was decisive and took the risky step of containing Iran's aggression toward the United States. That his mission to rescue the hostages failed was both a factor of failure in proper military planning by Pentagon and the CIA but he acted. If Obama's Pakistan Mission had failed, Romney would have blamed him alone; now he gives all the credit to the military and non to the Commander-in-Chief. Romney on the hand equivocates on all matters: he did not stop the woman who said in his face that the President of the United States should be charged of treason. Romney could not defend the gay person he hired as his senior foreign policy adviser when he was under attack and let his go without taking a stand. Romney could not take a stand on so many pressing issues of this campaign. he fails even to tell us what he would do as President, what programs he would cut, and so forth. That is lack of courage. CARTER, since leaving office, has proven abundantly that he is a true humanitarian while Romney wallows in all the nastiness of selfish individualism as a vulture capitalist. SURELY, Romney doesn't measure up to Jimmy Carter's stature.

CARTER IS A TRUE HUMANITARIAN AND WORLD SERVER. HE HAS FRAUDULENTLY BEEN DEMONIZED BY REPUBLICANS FOR POLITICAL REASONS--YET THE MAN IS A TRUE PATRIOT AND ACHIEVER. HIS ONLY MAJOR FAILURE WAS IN IRAN. THAT MAKES IT EVEN CLEARER THAT OBAMA DEMONSTRATED COURAGE AND LEADERSHIP to order the Bin Laden attack in Pakistan. People are trying to take credit away from him; imagine what would have happened if the mission had failed? Would those who now criticize have been clamoring to share the failure s they want to spread the responsibility for the success? ON American POLITICS, Carter stands out with distinction, if any one would care to examine the facts. ABOUT ROMNEY USING CARTER AS A FODDER AND PLOY. STRANGE INDEED THAT ROMNEY WOULD DERIDE CARTER AND CONSTANTLY TRY TO USE HIM AS A FODDER FOR HIS POLITICS. LET'S COMPARE. CARTER was top of his class at the US naval academy and served in a war; Romney absconded to a luxury apartment in Paris to avoid military service while his countrymen fought in the trenches of war-ravaged Vietnam. CARTER achieved a lot as President including starting America's first foray into energy conservation and clean energy; Romney is completely in bed with fossil fuel polluters. CARTER is empathetic; Romney is ruthless, cold, calculating, heartless and thoroughly self-seeking. CARTER was decisive and took the risky step of containing Iran's aggression toward the United States. That his mission to rescue the hostages failed was both a factor of failure in proper military planning by Pentagon and the CIA but he acted. If Obama's Pakistan Mission had failed, Romney would have blamed him alone; now he gives all the credit to the military and non to the Commander-in-Chief. Romney on the hand equivocates on all matters: he did not stop the woman who said in his face that the President of the United States should be charged of treason. Romney could not defend the gay person he hired as his senior foreign policy adviser when he was under attack and let his go without taking a stand. Romney could not take a stand on so many pressing issues of this campaign. he fails even to tell us what he would do as President, what programs he would cut, and so forth. That is lack of courage. CARTER, since leaving office, has proven abundantly that he is a true humanitarian while Romney wallows in all the nastiness of selfish individualism as a vulture capitalist. SURELY, Romney doesn't measure up to Jimmy Carter's stature.